World Service Corp volunteers gather before heading to different parts of the world.

World Service Corps Volunteers Serve Worldwide

The World Service Corps sent nineteen volunteers in May and June into cultures they never had experienced to offer ministry and service.

After training, the volunteers—eighteen of them college students—headed from Missouri, to Korea; India; Ukraine; Fiji and Caledonia; Canada; United Kingdom; Zambia; Michigan; Independence; Peru; Kirtland, Ohio; and Nauvoo, Illinois. They lived in these places until the first week of this month. They will return home to share ministry impacted by those whom they met.

“Being a volunteer can mean many things: teaching English in Korea, building houses in Sri Lanka, and helping with Bible school and youth camps in South America or Australia,” said Jeanette Hicks, World Service Corps program specialist. “It can also mean painting a church in England, weighing babies at an African clinic, and giving tours at our historic sites.”

Teams served around the world:

• Seoul, Korea: Ashley Campbell (Independence) and Emily Morris (Clay Cross, England)

• South India: Katie Harmon (Charlestown, Indiana) and Kory Rillos (Sacramento, California)

• Ukraine: Zoe Naylor (Blue Springs, Missouri) and Allie Petrie (Lamoni, Iowa)

• Fiji and Caledonia: Angela Cook (Blue Springs) and Brittany Longsdorf (Decatur, Illinois)

• Canada West: Christy Pratt (Lamoni, Iowa) and Heidi Mayer (Olathe, Kansas)

• Dunfield House, United Kingdom: Matt Jones (Blue Springs)

• Zambia: Rachael Zimmerman (Bowling Green, Ohio) and Ashley Guinan (Blair, Nebraska)

• Hawthorne Place, Independence: James Rathbone (Nuneaton, England) and Jena Wight (Blue Springs)

• Detroit, Michigan: Alex Gustafson (Richmond, Missouri) and Mercedes Jenkins (Apple Valley, Minnesota)

• Lima, Peru: Rachel Glaser (Independence) and Misha Barbour (Jackson, Tennessee)

World Service Corps immerses the volunteers into new experiences, cultures, and people. Rachel said she applied because “I love God and I want to share his love with other people.” Matt said his heart was open to new experiences and new relationships. Jena said, “I hope to spread the gospel and bring it to those who need it and who might not have heard it before.” A passion for helping the people in Africa was a driving point for Ashley.

Volunteers also expressed a desire to serve. Misha said, “We were taken on a mission trip to help plant seeds of the church in new areas in the country. That I didn’t expect, but was given the opportunity to do.”

Hicks said the program often exceeds participants’ expectations: “The World Service Corps program continues to be a way for young adults—and some not so young—to make a difference as they reach out to people in other countries in ways they could never have imagined.”

Visit www.CofChrist.org/WorldService/ or contact WorldService@CofChrist.org or 1-800-825-2806, ext. 2241, to learn more about this program and opportunities to volunteer or host.

—Patty Wilson reporting